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A handyman is a jack of all trades. They can handle pretty much any repair or maintenance work that your house might need. However, depending the degree of the issue, you might need to call for a dedicated contractor who specializes on that exact utility.
For example, if your HVAC unit is not turning on due to a simple wiring problem from the electric board, a handyman is enough. However, if the problem is with the condenser compressor itself, a technician who is experienced in HVAC technology should be called to change it.
But how do you know when a handyman is enough and when to call for an expert technician? Well, this is exactly what we are here to explain.
When Should You Hire a Handyman?
As I said before, a handyman is a jack of all trades. This means a handyman can pretty much do any day-to-day home repair work.
Leaking faucet? A handyman can fix it for you. Need to change the burned fuses? A handyman can replace those. Need to fix the cabinet hinges in your kitchen? A handyman can handle that as well.
Pretty much any basic repair can be handled by these professionals.
So, if you are able to identify the reason behind the problem and are certain it doesn’t require special industry-specific equipment and tool, hire a handyman. Chances are he will be able to do the fixing with basic hardware store tools and equipment.
Also, if you have zero clue on what exactly is wrong with your plumbing or HVAC or electricity, you may hire a handyman to do an initial assessment. Even if he is unable to fix that problem, he’ll at least be able to troubleshoot the situation and let you know what and who you need to hire this fixed.
Basically, you should hire a handyman if the problem you are dealing with can easily be fixed or if you have no idea what caused the problem.
For reference, these are types of work a handyman usually handles:
- Plumbing
- Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
- Roofing
- Flooring
- Electric
- Painting
- Assembling
- IT Technician
- Carpeting
- Surveillance
What Are Your Other Options?
The types of chores I mentioned above can be as simple as turning a knob on a dial to a complete unit replacement. For the latter, it is always advised to hire a contractor who has solid experience in that specific type of work.
For example, if you need to level the one crooked tile, a handyman is equipped and capable enough. But if you need to replace the whole flooring of your house, it is best to hire a contractor who is flooring or tiling his whole life.
Similarly, if you just need to change a portion of the roof, call a handyman. If you want to redo the roof to fix the whole layer, call the roofing contractor.
3 Reasons to Hire a Handyman
If you are still confused about whether to hire a handyman or a contractor, these 3 points might make things clear.
1. The range handyman services
As I’ve said before, handyman services range from painting, assembling, repairing, plumbing to literally any household chores. So, if you need someone to take care of multiple things that don’t relate to one another, you can get them done by calling one handyman.
For example, let’s say you need a plumber to fix the sink and an HVAC technician to look at the condenser wiring. If you decide to hire two guys for two jobs, you will have to pay double what you may have hired a handyman for.
2. They are good at planning
An individual niche contractor might know everything about his job. However, his knowledge of other relevant things might not be as sharp as you’d expect. On the other hand, a handyman is somewhat knowledgeable in all things you might need help with around the house.
For that reason, if you explain your vision to a handyman, he might be able to nudge you to the right approach and plan the job for you. Since he is knowledgeable in many things, he might know what doing something on a specific part or to the equipment of the house will result in.
3. Always prepared
Handymen are always prepared and available at your beck and call. Due to the range of services he offers, his chances of getting a call is much higher than the contractor with even more experience who was experienced in a specific field. For that reason, handymen are always prepared with their equipment.
Wrapping Up
I hope, by now, you know when to call a handyman and when to call a contractor. Basically, a contractor is only for something that is too big to be handled by a partially-experienced handyman. If the problem is big, call for a contractor. Otherwise, a handyman is enough to hold all big and small upgrades or repairs your need.
